


A Summer of Sanders Souls

by Angel_In_The_Night_Sky



Series: Sanders Souls [1]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Deceit Sanders, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-03-06 10:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18849529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_In_The_Night_Sky/pseuds/Angel_In_The_Night_Sky
Summary: Roman Wright found out about Soulmates in the Sixth Grade, just like most kids his age.





	1. The simple beginning

Roman never knew he saw the world differently than most others. To be honest, he hadn’t had a reason to think so. He’d always been able to differentiate colors from each other and he thought that, though a little bland, the world was beautiful. It wasn’t until the sixth grade that he realised that he was a bit different. Well, in the same way that everyone was a bit different to everyone else.

Roman had just settled down into his last class of his first day of Sixth Grade when a grown man burst through the classroom door singing a theme song he could swear he recognized from somewhere, before he introduced himself. "Alright everybody! I’m Dr. Emile Picani and I’ll be your driver on this magic school bus ride to soulmate education!”. The class was frozen in a state of shock. Roman sat up straight and alert. He had heard of Soulmates before, but he had thought it was myth or hope. Certainly not something to be educated on. 

“Now I know that many of you think that Soulmates aren’t real, and that’s perfectly normal! Most parents try not to expose their children to this idea until they can be properly educated on how Soulmates work so they can avoid trying to explain why their child’s latest crush may not be their Soulmate. But it’s perfectly real, and it may explain a few odd things that may be happening in your lives!”. That got the class to reawaken. Satisfied that he had managed to reign in the class, Dr. Picani continued.

“Now, almost everyone has a Soulmate, which is a person which your soul is tightly bound to. This person is your perfect match. That doesn’t mean that you won’t fight or like the same exact things, it just means that your personalities fit. You’re perfect companions through life. A long time ago, it was thought that only a few people had Soulmates as they had physical indications. However, it has since been figured out that there are many, many types of Soulmate indicators. That is what this class is about. Figuring out which Soul Indicator you have.” Roman was floored. He was convinced that Soulmates were a fairytale, but now he knew he had one! He was so excited, he began to wonder what Soul Indicator he had, when a young boy raised his hand.

“Doctor Picani?” the young boy asked, “What Soul Indicator do you have?”. Dr. Picani chuckled, “That is a very good question, Patton. Why don’t I show you?” and he pulled up his sleeve to reveal an image of a starbucks coffee cup and sunglasses. “My Soulmate happens to have these on him at all times. My dear Remano has a similar image of a clipboard that never leaves my side and my trusty spectacles, without which I would surely make a spectacle of myself!”, he paused, waiting for a reaction. Most of the class groaned but the boy known as Patton burst into genuine laughter. Yeah, Roman thought, this is gonna be a good year.

As the year went on Roman found himself getting more and more disappointed. Almost everyone else had found their Indicators and he still had no idea if he even had one. One day in May, he confided in his best friend, the boy who had laughed at Dr. Picani’s pun, Patton. He and Patton had become quite close friends after the first day of Soul Ed. and he had even developed a crush on him. Unfortunately, the day came where they learned about the Mind Meld bond, and Patton found out that he wasn’t crazy, he could just hear his Soulmate’s thoughts. And Roman knew that he couldn’t hear Patton’s thoughts. The next class, they learned that Patton actually had two Soul Indicators, though they weren’t sure which was his and which was his Soulmate’s, the ability to feel each other’s emotions. Patton was happy, but he and his Soulmate agreed to let them meet naturally.

 

And thus the day in May came where, at recess, Patton and Roman were sitting on top of a grassy hill a little ways away from the regular playground. Patton picking at the grass and Roman was staring at the thin clouds that spanned across the blue sky. Patton was halfway through making a crown out of grass when Roman spoke up.

“Ya know, Patton? I’m starting to worry that I don’t even have a Soulmate”, Patton looked up from his grass weaving, “it’s not like I have anything particularly different about me, I don’t have any strange physical features, I’ve never heard any voice in my head, and nothing has ever appeared on my skin. I wonder if I’m just… Soulless” Roman finished, looking away from his best friend.

“That’s not true!” Patton exclaimed, “If anyone has a Soulmate it’s you, Roman! You’re the most Roman-tic person I know!” Roman sighed overdramatically, but smiled at the pun on his name. Patton could always cheer him up. “And besides,” Patton continued, “we aren’t done with the class yet. Maybe you just have a rare and romantic SI we haven’t learned about yet! If anyone would, it’d be you!” Patton finished as he placed the completed grass crown upon Roman’s head. Roman laughed and said he hoped so, and sure enough, a few days before the last week of school he walked into Soul Ed. and sat down, thinking about what he would do without a soulmate of his own. Surely he’d have to sign up for the Soulless dating site when he got older, he was too much of a romantic to not be in a relationship, he just hoped that the acting world didn’t care that he was Soulless, or else that would really put a damper on his plans for the future.

“Alrighty Class! Let’s get ourselves settled in our seats to learn about the second rarest form of Soul Indicators, Monochromatic Vision. Back in Medieval Times, Monochromatic Vision was only found in the royal family, the Edgeworths. As you all know, families with rarer SIs would often have the SI run through their bloodline. However, this form of SI hasn’t been reported in decades, the last known case being the last known remaining Edgeworth, Trucy Edgeworth, who has since passed away. Now, the signs of Monochromatic Vision can be hard to figure out. Those with Monochromatic Vision can only see in grayscale, but since they’ve been that way their entire lives, they don’t know that. The only real way to help someone figure out is they have Monochromatic Vision is to show them these two colors” Picani pulled up a picture of two colored blocks on the smartboard, “and ask if they look the same to them. These two specific colors look exactly the same in grayscale even though they look completely different to us now”, Roman raised his hand, “Uh, yes Roman?”

“I’m sorry sir, but those are completely the same color of blue. Anyone would see the same shade” Roman stated. Patton nudged him and said, “I think you found your Soul Indicator, Rome. The two blocks are blue and red.” Roman broke out into a broad smile. Roman had an SI! He quickly threw away his plans for the rest of his life and listened closely to Dr. Picani’s lesson.

Picani, used to people suddenly realising their SI’s in class, continued on with his lesson. “Alright, now the way this SI seems to work is that when two soulmates both lock eyes for the first time, the soulmate with this SI will suddenly see the world of color. It can be startling, and your soulmate may need help identifying certain colors, but that’s perfectly normal. The only way for the colors to go away again is if your soulmate dies. The moment they do, your vision will go back into grayscale. The colors themselves respond to your soulmates emotions. If, for example, your soulmate is experiencing a panic attack, the colors will start to saturate. That’s about all we know, as this SI has been missing for a century. Maybe you’ll be able to help us figure out more, Roman!” Roman blushed as the bell rang.

“Alrighty, class! Time to head home. Tomorrow will be our last class together, and we’ll be covering the rarest form of Soul Indicator, the Illuminated! Have a good day, and enjoy the sun!” Picani exclaimed as he waved his class out. Roman took his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and caught up with Patton as they headed out to walk home together. After they got a few minutes away from school, Patton elbowed Roman playfully, “See? I told you you had a soulmate, and I think it’s one of the most romantic ones of them all!” “Aw, shush Pat,” Roman said with a small smile on his face, “I’m glad you were right though. It was really putting a downer on my life, and how was I supposed to live life fabulously when I was worried about someone I haven’t even met yet? I guess you have an advantage ther, Pat. How’s Logic doing anyways?” Logic was the nickname that Patton and his soulmate had agreed on, Pat’s was Morality. Pat paused and focused on his heart for a second before saying, “Logic seems worried about something, I’m gonna talk to him for a sec, okay Rome?” Roman nodded and they began to walk in silence as Patton talked to his soulmate. 

After about five minutes, Patton began to talk to Roman again, “Logic’s okay, he’s just worried that his final isn’t going to go well for his friend, who he just called Anxiety. Apparently he’s Soulless, and his parents only give him attention when he gets good grades. So he’s stressing himself out” Roman shook his head, “That’s terrible! Tell Logic to tell Anxiety that his parents ‘love’ isn’t worth forgoing his happiness! If his parents were really good parents, they would love him regardless of his Soul Status!” Patton was about to relay his message when he remembered that he couldn’t give any names through the Mind Meld, “Hey Rome? What should I call you through the Mind Meld?” “Hmmm… how about Creativity?” Patton snorted and said, “That’s perfect for you!” and he relayed the message. The pair had just reached Roman’s house when Patton laughed out loud, “Anxiety says he knows, but he likes the ‘challenge of education’”. Roman chuckled before bidding his best friend good-bye and running inside his house to tell his dads about his SI.

For the next few years, Roman tried to make eye contact with everyone he met, until that proved to be exhausting. He then put his love in the hands of fate and focused on his school acting career. He became known in his school’s theatre program as an inspiration to many boys who were scared to break gender roles. But he never stopped thinking about his soulmate. He simply hoped they liked him when they met. The on the last day of Eighth Grade, Patton and Roman sat on the very hill they talked through Roman’s struggle with possible soullessness, and discussed their summer plans. “I’m mostly excited for the Shakespeare camp, we’re gonna do Romeo and Juliet, Pat! I hope I get Romeo, but I’m happy we just got in”, Roman said, bouncing up and down, “What about you Pat? Any role that you’d like?” “I think I’d like to be the nurse, she cares so much for Juliet, it’d play to my strengths” “Perfect for you, Pat! Hey, what’s Lodge doin’ for summer break? Probably some nerd stuff, huh?”

Patton chuckled, “He and Anxiety are also going to a theatre camp! Who knows, it might even be the same one. Apparently it’s in the same town they both happen to be moving to. I wish I could know more, but the Meld statics out specifics about personal life. It’s so annoying! I want to know my soulmate’s name!” Patton fell onto his back dramatically and sighed. Roman smiled, “You’d think you were the theatre kid instead of me with how overdramatic you can be. Hey that rhymed a bit! I bet I could use that in a poem some time” he said, pulling out his notebook and jotting it down. At that moment, the bell rang and they were called back into school for they’re last few classes before summer. Roman took one last look at the cloudless sky, feeling as though this summer was going to be important and smirking at the adventure, before following his best friend.


	2. Shakespeare in Massachusetts

Pat-ernal_Instincts: r u almst here? my prent is worred tht smthng hppend evn tho i told them tht u probly just got stk in trfic

I’m_Shakesqueerian: I’ll Be There In Five Minutes Pat. Traffic Was Awful Even Though We’re Only Half An Hour Away.

Pat-ernal_Instincts: yay!!! :D c u soon! B redy 2 prctice mnologs whn u gt here!!! :))

I’m_Shakesqueerian: Of Course, Pat!

Pat-ernal_Instincts: :DD

 

Roman smiled to himself as he put away his phone. Pat always texted sloppily but it was because he was so excited and full of energy. The thespian looked out the window as his papa drove down the road. He was on his way to Patton’s parent’s house. They lived close to the camp so it made sense to stay with them as he and Patton did Shakespeare for three weeks. Roman had packed his stuff up in a rainbow (at least he was TOLD it was rainbow) duffle bag, and was going through his monologue in his head. He had picked the classic “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” monologue, as he hoped to be cast as Romeo, who else? Just as he felt confident in his memorization, they pulled in to Patton’s driveway. 

Roman had barely gotten out of the car when he got tackled by Patton. They both fell to the ground. As they lay there, Patton’s dog, a large St. Bernard, ran over and started to viciously lick Roman’s face. “Colonel! Colonel!”, a voice called running from the house. It was Alex, Patton’s Parent, calling for the dog to stop licking Roman’s face. “Colonal,” Alex said, grabbing the dog’s collar, “it’s not good for you to lick people’s faces! It could get them sick! I could swear I had trained you out of that…” Alex trailed off before looking at Patton, annoyed, “Patton William Faith, did you undo Colonel's training again?” Patton just giggled and said, “Well I’m not sick yet!” Alex’s face relaxed and they let out a small laugh, “I just can’t stay mad at you, my little trooper. Just please don’t let Colonel do that anymore, it could get you or Roman very sick! And I know you don’t want to be sick for Shakespeare, do you?” Alex smiled and helped Patton and Roman to their feet, “Now let’s get you boys inside. It’s getting dark and Roman needs to set up his stuff in your room, Pat. And I know you two want to practice your monologues before dinner. I’ll grab your bag, Roman, you just go in and clean the slobber off your face” Roman giggled as he and Pat raced inside, Roman shouting, “Bye Papa Klavier!” and his papa shouting back, “Auf Wiedersehen, Kleiner Prinz!”

Roman and Patton raced inside the house, Patton babbling as they went to the bathroom so Roman could wash his face. As Patton rambled about how Colonel found an old plastic diamond that he’d lost when he was still a toddler and it had a plant growing through it and that Alex had let him keep it here due to the surplus of sunlight they didn’t have back in their hometown and how Logic had said that a plant growing through a plastic diamond should be impossible, Roman was just wondering if he’d meet his soulmate at the camp or not. Maybe Patton would, but Roman was holding out hope that this was the summer he’d finally have his romance bloom. He supposed he’d know tomorrow, wouldn’t he? To him, the stars were aligning for a perfect soulmate meeting. He was going to perform Romeo and Juliet for goodness sake! The famous romance… well, tragedy, but what better meeting story for a thespian such as him? ‘Oh well,’ Roman thought, ‘I guess I’ll find out tomorrow’.

After Roman cleaned his face of Colonel’s slobber, he and Patton went to practice their monologues. Roman mostly helping Patton to get more invested in the character of the nurse and getting certain phrasings right, “It’s hole-E-dam, not holy-damn”. They continued until Alex called them down for dinner - pizza - and they all watched Tangled while eating. Roman often signing along or just saying entire scenes along with the characters. Alex was cracking jokes at the screen, making Patton and Roman clutch their stomachs in laughter. Patton mostly just sung along with Roman and took Flynn’s part for the duets. It’s surprising how exhausted one can get from watching a movie, but these three were used to it. Once the movie was done, Roman and Patton headed back up to their shared room and fell into an excited sleep.

* * *

The next day, Roman was bouncing up and down in the backseat of Alex’s beat-up old Jeep, brimming with excitement. They were only a minute away from the camp that could change his life! And give him new experiences that would change his acting career forever! ...Okay maaaaaybe he just really wanted to act with other people and share his passion. But he was excited for those other reasons too. He looked at Patton in the front seat, where he was nervously running through his monologue again. Not being as active in acting as Roman made him more nervous for the auditions later that day that Roman was. Roman put a reassuring hand on Patton’s shoulder, “Hey, I ran through that monologue with you dozens of times yesterday. You got this, Pat”, Patton shot Roman an anxious grin and looked out the window, “Hey, Rome! We’re here! Look at the building we’re gonna be in OH!” Patton gasped, nervousness forgotten, “They have a pride flag!”. Roman was glad Patton was calmer, well as calm as Patton could be, so, once Alex stopped the car, he got out and looked at the crown of teens and counselors.

The first thing Roman noticed was the older couple near a group of kids around his age. The woman was wearing glasses and a tan sundress with a red diamond pattern, and wore her silverish brown hair in a ponytail. The man wore wireframe glasses, a purple t-shirt, and brown khakis. His dark brown hair was brushed back, possibly in an attempt to cover a bald spot. The trio walked over to the man and woman who were currently engaged in friendly banter about two masseuses they met. “Um, excuse me,” Alex interrupted, “Can I get my son and his friend signed in please?”. The woman looked up, startled, “Oh, of course!” she handed Alex the clipboard with the sign-in sheet on it, “I’m Dot, and this is my husband and soulmate, Larry,” the man, Larry, waved half-heartedly, “And you are?” “Alex, I’m Patton’s parent and Roman’s guardian for the summer” “I see, well after today, you won’t have to sign these two in, but you do have to sign them out at the end of the day, okay?” Alex smiled, “Of course! You have to know where the kids are, after all!” They turned to the boys, ruffling Patton’s hair, “You two have fun, and look out for each other, okay?” “Yes ‘Rent!”, Patton said, “We’ll take good care of each other”. Alex handed back the clipboard and jogged back to the car.

“Alright boys, go ahead and mingle for a bit, we have about ten minutes before we start the day”, Larry waved the two off to the group of other teens just talking and turned back to Dot, continuing their banter that Alex had interrupted, “Now Sven looked like he could break me in half and so he has that going for him…”, Roman heard him saying as he and Patton walked over to the other teens. As Roman observed the crowd of theatre kids, he saw two boys that seemed out of place. One boy had very well-maintained black hair, a narrow face with rectangular glasses that framed his narrow green eyes. He wore a slightly oversized blue shirt with a Ravenclaw themed tie and crisp white pants. Along with his outfit, he sported a slight frown and a calculated glare at anyone who dare attempted to approach him and the boy huddled next to him. That glare didn’t stop Patton from running over and introducing himself.

“Hi there, I’m Patton! It’s my first time to this camp, is it yours? You know we have similar glasses, mine are just round!”, he stuck his hand out, queueing a handshake. The boy looked surprised and slightly confused. His friend seemed to curl in on himself at the sudden loudness. The tie wearing boy seemed ready to dismiss Patton when Roman jumped in, “Sorry about Patton, he just really likes meeting new people. I’m Roman, Roman Wright,” Roman also held out his hand. The boy simply raised an eyebrow, looked Patton and Roman up and down, and seemed to determine that the two weren’t a danger. He shook both of their hands and stated, “I’m Logan Contra. I have not participated in this camp before either”. 

After Logan accepted the duo as a non-threat, the boy next to him uncurled himself, allowing Roman to get a good look at him. The boy was pale, paler than could be considered healthy, and despite it being very hot out, he wore a black hoodie with what seemed to be hand-stitched purple flannel patches on the sleeves and hood. While he wore his hood up, Roman could see dark purple dyed hair slightly covering his dark eyes, which were underlined in eyebags that simply couldn’t be natural. The boy was slouched, seemingly fascinated by the stitching on his tailor-fit jeans and was slightly shaking. “ I’m V-virgil… n-nice to meet you,” he said in a small voice. Roman placed his hand on Virgil’s shoulder, “Nice to meet you too, Virgil” “Please don’t touch me...”, Virgil mumbled, incoherently. Roman cocked his head, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you” “He said not to touch him, you nitwit” Logan said suddenly, grabbing Roman’s arm and ripping it off Virgil’s shoulder, fixing him with an incredibly withering stare.

“Geez Logan!” Roman exclaimed, ripping his arm out of Logan’s grasp, “That grip could snap titanium!”, sighing, Roman turned to Virgil, “I’m sorry Virgil, my dad suffers from awful panic attacks, and my papa and I often place a hand on him to help him ground himself. I guess it’s just my instinctual reaction to someone shaking like that”, he ended with a slight smile, trying to lighten the situation. Patton, who had come over and was guiding Virgil through a breathing exercise, glanced at Logan, who had calmed down from hearing the explanation and apology. Logan nodded at Virgil who then gave Roman an accepting smile. Just as Patton had gotten Virgil to stop shaking and generally calm down, Dot called out for the kids to come and begin the day.

The boys power walked over to the counselors, then followed them into the building and into a medium-sized room. Dot and Larry directed the group to sit in a circle on the floor, and once everyone was seated, they began their opening speech. “Alright kids, welcome to Shakespeare camp. We’re sitting in a circle cause this is what we’re going to do for the rest of the time you all are are apart of this camp. In the morning we’re going to go around and state our names, how we’re feeling, and answer whatever thing that we, the counselors, pose as a question. Don’t get it? You’ll figure it out. After you’re done, hit the ground next to you to pass prompt. Here’s an example. I’m Larry Stitches, I’m a bit grumpy because our cat decided to scream throughout the night and my wife,” he glared playfully at Dot, “slept through it all. I’m now going to state a fact about myself as the rest of you will do. I am bisexual and proud!” the last part he yelled at the sky, as if proving something to the stars. Larry then definitely slapped the ground next to him, passing the prompt on to Dot. She smiled and said, “I’m Dot Stitches and I’m very excited to meet all of you and get to know you! A fact about me is that I have seven brothers,” with that Dot hit the ground next to her twice. 

The prompt was passed around until it got to Roman. “Hello there! I am Roman Write and I am confident that this camp will be amazing! A fact about me is that I have no allergies whatsoever”, Roman slapped the ground next to him, passing the prompt to Patton. “Hi y’all! My name is Patton Faith and I’m nervousited about today’s auditions and meeting everyone! A fun fact about me is that I have exactly 57 freckles!” Patton then rapidly tapped the ground next to him, passing the prompt to Logan. “Salutations, my name is Logan Contra and I am content in the world around me today. A factoid about myself is that I am a trans man” and after a second, he placed his hand on the ground, and gave the prompt to Virgil, who looked less nervous but his eyes were still darting around a bit. “M-my name is Virgil Hawthorn and I’m p-pretty anxious about being here, but I’m also excited to be here. A fact about me, I guess, is that I have an older brother named Dolion” and with that he lightly tapped the ground beside him, completing the circle.

“Alright,” Larry announced, standing up, “the rest of the day reads as follows. For the rest of the first half of today we’ll play a couple of improv games to help you guys get comfortable around each other, then we’ll go to lunch, and after that we’ll have a practice hour for you to put the finishing touches on your chosen monologues. After that is auditions. Please be aware that auditions will be held with everyone watching as we can’t leave you alone without adult supervision. Sorry about that”. Everyone murmured various agreements and assurances and they went on with the day. As Roman participated in the various improv games, he came to a conclusion. As far as he could tell, Virgil and Logan couldn’t act to save their lives. He would be happy to be proven wrong but he doubted he would be. As they went to lunch, Roman was worried that his two new acquaintances would embarrass themselves at auditions.

**Author's Note:**

> Incase you're wondering "SI" is pronounced like "sigh"


End file.
